Notre Dame’s Natalie Achonwa will miss Final Four with torn ACL

Notre Dame forward Natalie Achonwa is tended to by a trainer in the second half of their NCAA women’s college basketball tournament regional final game against Baylor on Monday at the Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Ind. Achonwa tore the anterior cruciate luigament in her left knee and won’t play in the Final Four. (Paul Sancya/The Associated Press)

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame says forward Natalie Achonwa sustained a knee injury in the regional semifinal against Baylor and won’t be able to play for the Fighting Irish in the Final Four.

The school said Tuesday the 6-3 forward suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee in Monday night’s 88-69 win. Achonwa caught a pass in the paint from Kayla McBride with just under five minutes left in the game and was bumped from behind by Chardonae Fuqua. She yelled as she fell to the ground and grabbed her left knee.

Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said in a statement that while Achonwa won’t play in the Final Four “her voice will be heard loud and clear in the locker room, on the bench and in the huddle.”